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Abstract
This article will focus on the changes in time, technology and data that have affected traditional partner relationships using participatory geographic information systems (PGIS). Project development roles of reliance held by the community, and managed by university agents, has shifted from cooperative to, in some cases, complete independence. The modern model of citizen participation includes a resident-planner toolkit with greater access to neighbourhood data and low- to high-tech analytical tools. Many community-led quality of life studies have a limited scope and focus on policy issues that do not serve a larger constituency. Many neighbourhood plans exclude self-reported neighbourhood knowledge and, due to the frequency of municipal reporting cycles, leaves gaps and data mismatch. Given this, the traditional public participation GIS (PPGIS) model may be less data driven due to a more mission-driven resident-led PGIS solution. Planners in practice and in academia have raised levels of concern about data standards, interoperability, reliability, error and metadata. How and why Citizen Science influenced the progression of PPGIS, participation GIS, crowdsourcing and now community-managed data in both theory and practice are provided. This paper will reflect on how top-down strategies to include neighbourhood knowledge are being reframed by the United States Federal Community of Practice. The future of data integration focuses on both the process and products of data development from both the bottom-up and top-down perspectives.
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Notes on contributors
Michelle M. Thompson
Michelle M. Thompson is an Associate Professor at the University of New Orleans in the Department of Planning and Urban Studies (UNO PLUS). Michelle teaches courses in geographic information systems, community development finance, urban public finance, housing, urban studies and land use planning. She received a Masters in Regional Planning in 1984 and a PhD in 2001 from the Cornell University Department of City and Regional Planning with a focus on community development and spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS). Michelle received her Bachelor of Arts in Policy Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs from Syracuse University in 1982.
Michelle’s research focuses the application of public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) in community development and reinvestment. Michelle is the Project Manager of the web-based community mapping service, WhoData.org, which combines parcel level neighbourhood condition information with public data to monitor socio-economic and demographic changes. The WhoData.org Team and Students from UNO PLUS have supported individuals and organizations locally and nationally to identify areas of potential reinvestment while evaluating community health and safety.
Michelle is also the Principal of Thompson Real Estate Consultants LLC, a real estate research and education firm. Michelle has also worked in both public and private companies related to the finance of residential and commercial real estate. Michelle has a long-term interest in working with community development organizations to provide technical support, market research and evaluation services.